Embodiments herein generally relate to computerized devices that allow access to images (pictures, photographs, drawings, graphic art work, etc.) and more particularly to a computerized device and method that allow users to access electronic versions of images by merely referencing the name of the hardcopy item where the images appear.
When a book contains an image that a user would like to obtain, the user can try and track it down via the photo credits that most but not all books have, or via the publisher. Even if the photo credits are there, a lot of sleuthing is needed to locate the desired image. Some books give the UPI/Corbis reference numbers for the pictures so that the user can search by image number. Otherwise, the user would go through the usual keyword search, using location, date, subject and so on to locate the image the user is interested in.
With the embodiments herein a publisher can register a book (having pictures) with a service that offers a dedicated website where people can go and find the image using the ISBN number (or book title) and page number. Once found, the website either offers terms for obtain the image, or a link to the image owner's web site (which will offer terms for image use). The user can, for example, purchase a framed hardcopy of the image or obtaining rights to the digital version of the image.
People are used to searching for images via keywords, either on the entire web or on websites such as that of the Library of Congress or Corbis. However, one largely unexploited source of images is books, which when they contain images, have a collection of photos, organized by subject or topic and selected and filtered by the author or photo editor for content and relevance. Buying or borrowing a book indicates that a user is already interested in the content and the images it contains, so the publisher has self-selected prospects for secondary sales based on the book content, in this case, images. The embodiments herein turn an ordinary book into a means of marketing images and a new sales channel for image content.
A book that offers the service of the embodiments herein can indicate the availability of the service by displaying an appropriate logo or trademark and including an identification of the website where the service can be activated on some prominent portion of the hardcopy publication (e.g., on the back cover and/or title page). The welcome page on the website is very simple: the user enters the ISBN or title of the book that indicated it subscribed to the service. The user can also enter the page number, or be taken to a webpage with the numbers of the pages for which images in that book are available. Since there may be more than one image on a page, pages with multiple images may show the thumbnails of the images. An order form is linked to the page number or a thumbnail image. This can be an order form on an existing site for image ordering, or an order form offered by the service described herein. Further links can be made to printing services for fulfillment of the order.
Thus, one method herein maintains a database of printed publications within a first computerized device. To feed and update the database, the embodiments herein can receive the images from publishers of the hardcopy items or can automatically and continuously search one or more networks for electronic publications that correspond to the printed publications (hardcopy books, magazines, and periodicals). Such electronic publications and the printed publications each have one or more printable images. The printable images are printable; however, printable image can also refer to all images available from the database, which in the end may be used on a website and not printed. Therefore, the database comprises a plurality of the printable images, and correlates the printable images to different pages of different printed publications.
A second computerized device can be operatively connected to (directly or indirectly connected to) the first computerized device by way of, for example, wired or wireless networks (such as a local area network or a wide area network, such as the Internet). For example, the first computerized device could be a file server maintaining the database and the second computerized device could be a user's personal computer, personal digital assistant (PDA), mobile computer, cell phone, etc., that is connected to the first computerized device by way of the Internet.
According to embodiments herein, the first computerized device receives a request for at least one of the printable images within a printed publication that is within the database from the second computerized device. The request includes an identifier of the printed publication (e.g., the name of the printed publication, an identifier code for the printed publication, etc.) and can identify at least one page number of the printed publication.
The first computerized device transmits display information to the second computerized device to cause the second computerized device to display one or more of the printable images that appear on the identified page number of the identified printed publication. The display information can include thumbnail images, textural identifiers, prices, etc., of the printable images appearing on the page number of the printed publication.
The first computerized device receives an image selection from the second computerized device that identifies the selected images from among the printable images displayed by the second computerized device. After appropriate authorization and/or compensation, the first computerized device provides the selected images to the second computerized device. While the second device can download the selected image, the first device can also cause the selected image to be printed and the resulting print shipped to any location designated by the second device as part of the authorization. Ordering images, either for printing on paper, coffee mugs, etc., and shipping or downloading is one of the many capabilities provided by the embodiments herein.
One example of a special purpose or general purpose device embodiment herein is a computerized device that includes a processor and a storage device storing a database. The storage device is operatively connected to the processor and the database maintains the information corresponding to the printed publications that have the printable images. The apparatus also includes an input/output device operatively connected to the processor. The input/output device can receive the printable images from publishers of the printed publications into the database or can search networks for such printable images.
In operation, the input/output device receives the request for at least one of the printable images within a printed publication that is within the database from the second computerized device. Again, the request comprises an identifier of the printed publication and at least one page number of the printed publication. The page number can identify the image, although a unique identifier will do, such as Figure number or Plate number. The input/output device transmits display information to cause the second computerized device to display one or more of the printable images appearing on the page number of the printed publication. The input/output device receives an image selection identifying selected images from among the printable images displayed by the second computerized device, from the second computerized device. Then, the input/output device provides the selected images to the second computerized device. Again, the second device can be a printer/copier in a print-and-ship model, or a print-and-pick-up model.
These and other features are described in, or are apparent from, the following detailed description.